Hinged folder assembly



Sept. 29, 1970 c. J. NARDON HINGED FOLDER ASSEMBLY Filed Sept. 19, 1968 2&2: Z/ 27 R m film ED & V5 7 mA V r N Mhn J K a United States Patent ()fice 3,530,529 HINGED FOLDER ASSEMBLY Carl J. Nardon, 4532 Cockerham Drive, Los Angeles, Calif. 90027 Filed Sept. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 760,762 Int. Cl. Ed 15/00 US. Cl. 16128 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinged folder assembly having a pair of flat metal liner sheets mounted within cover boards is provided with a hinge construction employing metal C-shaped retainers each encompassing abutting integral fingers formed on confronting edges of the liner sheets. The fingers each form the same acute angle with respect to their respective liner sheet so that, in the absence of the cover boards, the liner sheets may be moved to an installation position in which the retainers may be installed over adjacent pairs of fingers. The cover boards when installed each have a boundary edge contacting the fingers on its respective liner sheet to prevent disassambly of the retainers from the fingers.

This invention relates to hinged folder assemblies and to the hinge construction for pivotally connecting the two halves of the assembly.

An important object of this invention is to provide an improved hinge construction of the general type of a piano hinge, which is particularly well suited for economical manufacture on a quantity production basis. Another object is to provide such a hinge device con structed to enable assembly thereof to be accomplished in a novel manner. This invention will be described in connection with a folding accounting board, but it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration only.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of this invention, in folded position.

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation partly broken away, shown on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view partly broken away, showing the manner of assembly of the C-shaped retainers with respect to abutting pairs of fingers formed on the metal liner sheets.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the lines 55 as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the device as shown in FIG. 1, in extended position.

FIG. 7 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the lines 77 as shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view partly broken away, showing the upper surface of the device of FIG. 1, in extended position.

Referring to the drawings, the hinged folder assembly generally designated 10 comprises a base 11 and a cover 12 connected by a hinge assembly 13. The base comprises a flat metal liner sheet 14 and a cover board 15 secured together by any suitable adhesive. Similarly, the cover comprises a flat metal liner sheet 16 and a cover board 17 secured together by a suitable adhesive. If the hinged folder assembly 10 is to be used as an accounting board, the base 11 may protrude beyond the cover 12, and a series of pegs 18 formed integrally with the liner sheet 14 may be provided on this protruding portion. The pegs 18 are preferably constructel in the fashion shown in my prior Pat. No. 2,944,838 for According Board,

Patented Sept. 29, 1970 granted July 12, 1960. Except for the protruding portion just described, the liner sheets 14 and 16 are substantially duplicates, and the cover boards 15 and 17 are substantially duplicates.

The hinge 13 is formed by a plurality of C-shaped metal retainers 21 each of which encompasses abutting integral fingers 22 and 23 formed on confronting edges of the fiat metal liner sheets 14 and 16. Each of the fingers 22 is positioned in the same plane which forms an acute angle with respect to the liner sheet 14. Similarly, the fingers 23 lie in the same plane forming an acute angle with respect to the liner sheet 16.

The C-shaped retainers are installed in position prior to mounting the cover boards 15 and 17 on the liner sheets 14 and 16, respectively. In the absence of the cover boards, the liner sheets 14 and 16 may be swung to the installation position shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings. In this position, the confronting fingers 22 and 23 are in surface contact to present minimum dimensional widths, so that the retainers 21 may be dropped over confronting pairs of fingers to the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Endwise clearance between adjacent fingers is provided by slots 24 and 25 provided in the confronting edges of the liner sheets 14 and 16, respectively.

After assembly of the retainers 21 on the fingers 22 and 23, the liner sheets are swung to a position in which they lie in the same plane, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The cover boards 15 and 17 are then installed in position with their inner edges 26 and 27 contacting the fingers '22 and 23, respectively. This serves to prevent disassembly of the retainers 21 from the fingers. The cover boards are secured to their respective liner sheets by means of suitable adhesive.

When the hinged folder assembly 10 is used as an accounting board, the cover 12 is swung from the folded position shown in FIG. 1, to the open position shown in FIG. 8. In the latter position, the exposed surfaces of the liner sheets 14 and 16 lie in the same horizontal plane. An exposed working surface is thus provided with minimum of interruption at the hinge joint 13.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I am not to be limited to the details herein set forth but that my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a hinged folder assembly, the combination of: a pair of fiat liner sheets having parallel confronting edges provided with a series of angularly directed fingers, a plurality of retainers each encompassing one finger on each liner for hingedly connecting the liner sheets, a pair of cover boards, one secured to each liner sheet, respectively, each cover board having an edge contacting the fingers on its respective liner sheet to prevent disassembly of the retainers from the fingers.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the cover boards are substantially thicker than the liner sheets.

3. In ahinged folder assembly, the combination of: a pair of flat liner sheets having parallel confronting edges, a confronting edge on each liner sheet being provided with a series of angularly directed fingers, each finger forming an acute angle with relation to its respective liner sheet, a plurality of retainers each encompassing an adjacent pair of fingers, one on each liner, for hingedly connecting the liner sheets, a pair of cover boards, one secured to each liner sheet, respectively, each cover board having an edge contacting the fingers on its respective liner sheet to prevent disassembly of the retainers from the fingers.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the cover boards are substantially thicker than the liner sheets.

5. The combination set forth in claim 3 in which the liner sheets are formed of metal and wherein the fingers are formed integrally with the liner sheets.

6. In a hinged folder assembly, the combination of: a pair of fiat liner sheets having parallel confronting edges, a confronting edge on each liner sheet being provided with a series of angularly directed fingers, each finger forming the same acute angle with respect to its respective liner sheet, a plurality of C-shaped retainers each encompassing an adjacent pair of fingers, one on each liner, for hingedly connecting the liner sheets, whereby the liner sheets, in the absence of the cover boards, may be moved to an installation position in which the retainers may be installed over the adjacent pairs of fingers, a pair of cover boards, one secured to each liner sheet, respectively, each cover board having an edge contacting the fingers on its respective liner sheet to prevent disassembly of the retainers from the fingers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,092,870 6/1963 Baer 16-428 3,332,707 7/1967 Bell. 3,402,422 9/1968 Baer 16--128 X DAVID J. WILLIAMLOWSKY, Primary Examiner P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner 

